Lethe
Captain
Australia’s foreign affairs minister, , will meet her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Bali on Friday in a direct conversation that is a further sign of thawing relations between Canberra and Beijing after a diplomatic deep freeze.
After days of speculation, China’s foreign ministry announced on Thursday night Canberra and Beijing’s foreign affairs ministers would meet on the sidelines of the G20 in Indonesia for the first time since 2019. Friday’s meeting was later confirmed by Australian officials.
Wong she was open to a conversation with her Chinese counterpart at the G20. She said both countries had an interest in “stabilising the relationship” but Australia’s foreign affairs minister also warned any durable rapprochement would require the removal of Beijing’s “coercive” trade sanctions against a variety of exports.
The trade minister, Don Farrell, has asked to meet his counterpart, Wang Wentao, but was unable to do so when the two ministers attended a meeting of the World Trade Organization in June.
While Wong and Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, have repeatedly emphasised the importance of China removing trade sanctions to stabilising the relationship, Farrell struck a more conciliatory note in an interview with Guardian Australia this week.
“So at the moment the plan is to proceed with those [disputes],” he said. “Obviously if the opportunity arises to have a different set of discussions, whereby we can nut out a compromise situation, then I’d be fully supportive of going down that track.
“At the moment it’s the WTO process, that’s the proper way that these issues should be determined. But, if an alternative way emerges, then we’ll certainly be happy to look at that.”
More baby steps...